


Commitment

by theoncomingwolf



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F, Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 21:36:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4237524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoncomingwolf/pseuds/theoncomingwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tara's got a plan for her first Valentine's with Willow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Commitment

**Author's Note:**

> Moved over from my tumblr.

Tara had never really done Valentine’s Day before.

Her first one was technically with Elizabeth Banner, who snuck a white toy bear into her locker before school in senior year, a gift far superior to the poem and candy she’d left Liz, in Tara’s opinion. Aside from that, there wasn’t exactly a date or much interaction that day. Their relationship was a secret and she couldn’t very well leave the house on Valentine’s night without her dad getting suspicious. 

This year, however, she’d just begun seeing Willow Rosenberg, a gorgeous girl with pretty hair and beautiful eyes… who might be scared off if Tara came on too strong. They’d only just moved past kissing and even that stage of their relationship was pretty short-lived. She hadn’t even met Willow’s friends yet, Although the redhead assured her it would happen soon, she made no real moves to introduce them. 

This was either a grand opportunity to move the relationship to a more serious level or it was her chance to ruin it all and scare her previously- recently- straight girlfriend away with too big a display of affection too soon. And she couldn’t exactly do nothing and make Willow think she didn’t care.

Tara didn’t know why single people hated Valentine’s Day. This was far worse.

In the end, Tara’s solution, like many things in her life, came down to magic. In this case, it wasn’t real magic, but rather a simple bit of trickery she learned from a magician who had once come to her elementary school. He’d hidden folders around the room, each containing a different number from one to ten. This way, when he had someone pick and they chose four, he could slide the exact number out from behind the bookcase as if he knew all along. This was more or less Tara’s strategy for Valentine’s Day.

Two sets of plans were made; one was coffee and a cheap gift, the other a nice dinner and a pricier, more thoughtful present, so no matter which level Willow seemed to be at in the relationship, Tara could be on the same one.

She dressed in nice- but not too nice- clothing and waited for Willow to arrive. It was a good sign when Tara could sense Willow standing outside of her door ten minutes early. She doubts that she would have noticed the redhead’s presence if she wasn’t paying apt attention, but at least it meant that they were both excited. When two minutes passed and Willow had yet to knock, Tara tentatively pulled open the door. 

She was greeted by Willow’s surprised expression; she shoved a thin, wrapped box into Tara’s hands before slipping past her into the dorm, which was mostly unlit, aside from the fairy lights strung upon the wall. 

Tara peeled off the wrapping paper as she swung the door shut with her foot. Chocolates. Were chocolates a plan A gift or a plan B gift? 

Tara finally decided on the lower rung of relationship commitment, opting for the stuffed bear and coffee date, one of which she had hidden under her bed.

Which would have worked great, had she not hidden the bear in her shirt drawer. Instead, Tara pulled out the nicer gift, an electric kettle with a small box of mocha mix stacked on top under the wrapping. She knew Willow liked the chocolate-y coffees far more than the normal drink the coffeepot she had at home made. On the outside of the wrapping was also taped a cheerful pink envelope, which included a nice, possibly sappy letter on the inside and “Willow” written in loopy lettering on the outside. By the time she realized her mistake, Willow had spotted both the box and the letter, making it too late to shove the box back under the bed or rip the envelope off the package and shove it down her shirt.

“Ooh,” Willow cooed, grin wide as she plopped down next to Tara, resting her back against the border of the bed, “you didn’t have to get me anything.”

Tara smiled shyly as she slid the box over, the damned little hearts on the paper- different than the paper she’d used to wrap the bear- smiling tauntingly up at her from their perch on the white background.

As Willow peeled the envelope off the box, Tara’s heart seized up in her chest. Way too much, too fast; the gift was one thing, but what the hell was she thinking with the letter? She kept er expression in check, lest it turn into a grimace while she waited for Willow to read the letter encased inside.

She was hopeful when Willow’s slight smile turned into a full-blown grin, and Tara could feel her panic easing off. 

“I- thanks,” Willow said, carefully folding the letter and sliding it back into the envelope, before dropping it into the bag she brought, “I love it.”

She glanced back to the present, almost as an afterthought, before excitedly tearing away the wrapping paper with far less care than Tara generally- unnecessarily- took. Unable to smile any wider, Willow’s mouth dropped into an open-mouthed grin at what lay under the heart-dotted paper.

“This is so cool!” Willow said, leaning over the box to pull Tara into a hug, “Thank you so much!”

Tara hugged Willow back, inhaling the sweet scent at her shoulder for a moment before the awkward position became too much for the redhead to balance on and she rocked back into a sitting position, breaking the embrace. 

She dug around in her bag for a moment before pulling out a small, unwrapped, black box, handing it over to Tara nervously.

Tara carefully lifted the edges off of the box to reveal a gorgeous, gold-colored locket. A quick test with her fingernail on the edge of the heart revealed that it did not open, but she loved it, regardless.

“Oh Willow,” Tara said, “It- it’s really beautiful. Th-thank you so much.”

“I don’t have a nice letter or anything,” she said, wrapping her hands around her ankles, “but I’m glad you like it. I almost didn’t give it to you, to be honest. I was a bit worried I’d be coming on too strong.”

This brought a laugh from Tara that seemed to surprise Willow a little. 

“I- uh- h-had a similar plan. The bear I meant to give you if I got t-t-too nervous is in that drawer.” At Willow’s glance, she added, “You can have it if you want. So uhm, Coffee or dinner? I have plans for both ready.”

“Either,” Willow laughed, pulling Tara in for a kiss, “I love a girl with a plan.”


End file.
